On-line lottery extension game having an instant component and a draw-based component

ABSTRACT

An on-line lottery game method is disclosed. The game method includes the steps of providing a base lottery game, in known fashion, and an extension game offered in association with the base lottery game wherein those lottery game players who selectively choose to play the extension game are issued lottery game tickets bearing game indicia selected by the lottery system from a set of game indicia separate from that of player selected indicia. A drawing is held in the normal fashion for the base lottery game, and a drawing is held for the extension game in which game indicia from the second set of game indicia which match the player selected game indicia determine winners of the extension game.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 60/623,074 filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office onOct. 28, 2005, the provisions of which are fully incorporated herein bythis reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to a lottery game, and more particularlyto a lottery game in which after selecting a plurality of indicia, theplayer receives a ticket containing the selected indicia and pluralityof indicia which the player will use twice, first to match the selectedindicia on the ticket and then later to match indicia selected by thelottery in a draw.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many governments and/or gaming organizations sponsor wagering gamesknown as lotteries. A typical lottery game entails players selectingpermutations or combinations of numbers. This is followed by a “draw,”wherein the lottery randomly selects a combination or permutation ofnumbered balls. Prizes are awarded based on the number of matchesbetween a player's selection and the drawn numbers. The drawn numbersare the well-publicized, and multi-million-dollar-jackpot lotteries arepopular throughout the world.

Lotteries have become an important source of income to governments asthey shoulder much of the financial burden for education and otherprograms. However, as governments have grown more dependent on lotteriesit has become a challenge to sustain public interest therein. Oneapproach to invigorating lottery sales for on-line drawing games is tooffer “extension games,” games that can only be purchased in combinationwith other lottery games. An advantage of extension games is that theytap into existing player bases.

A special kind of on-line extension game is a so-called “instant” gamewhere players immediately learn whether or not they have won a prize.Such a game creates excitement and is appealing to players since theydon't have to wait for a drawing to claim a prize. However when playerslose an on-line instant game, which happens more often than not, theynever experience the sense of anticipation when they feel they might wina prize. The losing experience is even more sudden than with ascratch-off ticket, where players spend at least a small amount of timediscovering the outcome of their wager. Thus, there is need for aninstant extension game with a play mechanism that also allows players towin an extension game prize in the draw even if they have not won aninstant prize.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These, and other deficiencies in the art, are overcome by the presentinvention, which invention comprises a lottery game in which the playerselects a plurality of indicia from a set of indicia, after which theplayer receives a ticket containing the player-selected indicia as wellas another subset of indicia selected by the lottery from the same set.The player may win prizes by matching the lottery-selected indicia onthe ticket with the player-selected indicia, by matching thelottery-selected indicia on the ticket with indicia selected by thelottery in a drawing, or in the traditional manner, i.e. by matching theplayer-selected indicia with indicia selected by the lottery in adrawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a prize table for a base game that is used in conjunction witha first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a first embodiment of a prize table for the instant portion ofthe lottery extension game.

FIG. 3 is a first embodiment of a ticket for the lottery extension game.

FIG. 4 is a second embodiment of a ticket for the lottery extensiongame.

FIG. 5 is a prize table for a base game that is used in conjunction witha second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a second embodiment of a prize table for the instant portionof the lottery extension game.

FIG. 7 is an embodiment of a prize table for the draw-based portion ofthe lottery extension game.

FIG. 8 is a third embodiment of a ticket for the lottery extension game.

FIG. 9 is a fourth embodiment of a ticket for the lottery extensiongame.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In a preferred embodiment, the invention is an “extension game,” thatis, a game offered for sale only in combination with another lotterygame, referred to here as the “base game.” It is assumed that the basegame is a lotto-style game, as is well-known in the art. The base gametherefore comprises a player selecting indicia from a set of indicia andsubmitting his selections along with a wager to a lottery system, eitherthrough a retailer operating a lottery terminal or through a self-servekiosk. Alternatively, the player may request that the lottery systemselect the indicia for him. The assumption made herein, for the purposesof this description, is that the player has selected their own indicia.After sales for the game are closed, a drawing is held in which indiciaare selected from the same set. Players may win prizes based on thenumber of matches between the indicia they selected and the indiciaselected in the draw.

The player may initiate a play of the extension game simply byexpressing the desire to do so by either marking the bet slip whereindicated, informing the retailer verbally, or using a lottery kioskinterface, if applicable, and paying an additional amount of money. Ifthe player has elected to play the extension game, the player is issueda ticket that will contain his own selections and also a set of indiciaselected by the lottery for the extension game, as illustrated.

The plurality of lottery-selected indicia on the ticket may be lessthan, equal to, or greater than the plurality of indicia selected by theplayer. The player may be awarded prizes, based on the number oflottery-selected indicia that match the player-selected indicia. Theprizes may be cash, a multiplier that may be applied to base gamewinnings, one or more free plays for the base game, or any combinationthereof. If the player wins a cash prize at the time the ticket isissued, the ticket may be redeemed for the cash prize and the player isthen issued a “trailer” ticket, indicating that the cash prize has beenredeemed and listing once again the indicia selected for use in thedrawing portion of the game. The portion of the game described abovewill henceforth be referred to as the “instant” portion of the game, asdiscussed below.

After sales for the lottery game have been discontinued, the lotteryholds a drawing, i.e. a selection of indicia from the same set fromwhich indicia on the ticket were selected. The player may win a prizebased on the number of matches between the indicia he initially selectedand the indicia selected in the drawing. Such a prize would constitute abase game prize, as it would be available to all players of the basegame whether or not they had elected to play the extension.

The player may also win a prize based on the number of matches betweenthe additional lottery-selected indicia on the ticket and the indiciaselected in the drawing. Alternatively, a specified subset of thelottery-selected indicia on the ticket may be compared to a specifiedsubset of the indicia selected in the drawing. Also, an alternateembodiment may limit prizes in this portion of the game to players whodid not win a prize in the instant portion of the game. As this portionof the game is available only to players who elected to play theextension, the prizes may consist of multiplier values that may beapplied to base game winnings.

Two sample embodiments will be discussed. The first is an extension gamefor Tri State Megabucks® selected by way of example only as any desiredlottery game sponsored by a lottery organization may suffice as the basegame. In the Tri State Megabucks® game, players select six numbers fromthe set of integers 1 to 42. The lottery selects seven numbers from theof integers 1 to 42, the last one being designated as the “bonus ball.”Players win prizes based on how many of their selections match thelottery's first six selections and whether one of their selectionsmatches the bonus ball. The prize table for Tri State Megabucks® isshown in FIG. 1.

In the first sample embodiment, the extension player's ticket containsthree lottery-selected numbers, one of which is underlined. Thesignificance of the underlined number is that the player will win $13 ifthis number matches the bonus ball from the drawing. The prizes for theinstant portion of the game are shown in the prize table in FIG. 2. Inthis embodiment, the multipliers apply only to base game winnings otherthan the jackpot.

FIG. 3 shows a sample ticket in which the player selected, 3, 7, 12, 17,28, and 40. The lottery-selected numbers on the ticket are 5, 7, and 12,with the 5 underlined. The 7 and the 12 match two of the numbers beingplayed in the base game, so according to the prize table the player winsa 4× multiplier. Suppose the lottery draw is 3, 11, 12, 15, 28, and 33,with bonus ball 40. Then the player's base game outcome is 3 matchesplus the bonus ball. Since the base game prize for this level ofmatching is $5, the player has won $20.

A second sample ticket for this lottery game is shown in FIG. 4. Theplayer has made the same selections as in the previous sample ticket,but the lottery-selected numbers in this example are 6, 11, and 40, withthe 40 underlined. The 40 matches one of the player selections, so theticket wins a 3× multiplier. Assuming the lottery again draws 3, 11, 12,15, 28, and 33, with bonus ball 40, the player wins $5 in the base game.He also wins $13 since his underlined number matches the bonus ball. Histotal winnings are (3×$5)+$13=$28.

In a second exemplary embodiment, the base game is comprised of theplayer and the lottery each selecting 6 numbers from the set of integers1 to 42. The base game prizes, which depend on the number of matches,are shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, extension players receive threelottery-selected numbers on their ticket. None of these numbers has anyspecial designation. Prizes for the instant portion of the game areshown in FIG. 6. Note that some of the instant prizes include cash aswell as a multiplier. The multipliers do not apply to the instant cashprizes, but only to base game prizes, exclusive of the jackpot. Notealso that a player who has 0 matches in the instant portion of the gamewins a “second chance,” meaning that he may use the lottery selectednumbers on his ticket to match the numbers in the draw to win amultiplier prize. Once again the multipliers apply only to base gameprizes, exclusive of the jackpot. The multiplier prizes available toplayers who did not win have any instant matches is shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 shows a sample ticket in which the player selected, 3, 7, 12, 17,28, and

40. The lottery-selected numbers are 3, 12, and 28. All three of thesenumbers match the player's selection so the player wins $50 and a 5multiplier. Suppose the lottery draws 3, 8, 11, 12, 15, and 28. Then theplayer has 3 base game matches, and therefore wins a base game prize of$2. His total winnings are (5×$2)+$50=$60.

FIG. 9 shows a sample ticket in which the player selected, 3, 7, 12, 17,28, and

40. The lottery-selected numbers are 6, 11, and 22. None of thesenumbers match the player's selection so the player does not win aninstant prize but is eligible for a second chance at a multiplier.Suppose the lottery draws 3, 8, 11, 12, 15, and 28. Then the player has3 base game matches, and therefore wins a base game prize of $2. He alsohas one match between the lottery-selected numbers on his ticket and thedrawing numbers, so he wins a 3 multiplier. His total winnings are3×$2=$6.

The foregoing descriptions present only exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize thatthe invention may be embodied in a variety of ways by varying theplurality of lottery-selected indicia on the ticket, the prize tables,the criteria for determining whether the player may matchlottery-selected indicia on the ticket with indicia selected in thedrawing, and the subsets of lottery-selected indicia on the ticket anddrawing indicia that may be matched against each other. These, and othervariations of the gamer, are contemplated as being within the scope ofthe present invention.

1. A lottery game method, comprising the steps of: a) providing a baselottery game for sale in which a plurality of lottery game playersindividually select game indicia from a first set of game indicia andsubmit their respective selections along with a wager to a lotterysystem and are thereafter issued a lottery game ticket; b) offering anextension game in association with said base lottery game wherein thoselottery game players who selectively choose to play the extension gameare issued their respective lottery game tickets bearing game indiciaselected by the lottery system from a second set of game indicia.
 2. Thegame method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of holding adrawing in which game indicia from the first set of game indicia arerandomly selected by the lottery system and then determining whether thelottery game player has won a base game prize by comparing the playerselected game indicia with respect to the lottery selected game indiciafrom said first set of indicia.
 3. The game method of claim 2, furthercomprising the step of holding a drawing in which game indicia from thesecond set of game indicia are randomly selected by the lottery systemand then determining whether the lottery game player has won anextension game prize by comparing the player selected game indicia ofsaid first set of indicia with respect to the lottery selected gameindicia of said second set of game indicia.
 4. The game method of claim3, further comprising the step of awarding extension game prizes tolottery game players based upon on the number of lottery selectedindicia from the second set of indicia that match the player selectedindicia from the first set of indicia.
 5. A lottery game methodcomprising the steps of: receiving a first set of game indicia from aplayer; generating a second set of game indicia for an extension game;drawing a third set of game indicia; determining a first multiplierfactor for the player if the second set of game indicia matches at leasta predetermined number of game indicia in the first set; determining aprize for the player if the first set of game indicia matches at least apredetermined number of game indicia in the third set; and modifying theprize for the player according to the first multiplier factor.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, further comprising the step of determining an instantprize for the player if the second set of game indicia matches at leasta predetermined number of game indicia in the first set.
 7. The methodof claim 6, wherein the instant prize is a cash prize.
 8. The method ofclaim 6, further comprising the steps of: awarding the instant prize tothe player; and issuing a trailer ticket to the player.
 9. The method ofclaim 5, further comprising the step of issuing a lottery ticket to theplayer, the lottery ticket listing the first set of game indicia and thesecond set of game indicia.
 10. The method of claim 5, wherein one gameindicia in the third set is specially designated as a bonus gameindicia.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein one game indicia in thesecond set is specially marked.
 12. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising the step of, if the specially marked game indicia matches thebonus game indicia, determining a special cash prize for the player. 13.The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of: if the secondset of game indicia does not matches any game indicia in the first set,determining a second multiplier factor for the player if the second setof game indicia matches at least a predetermined number of game indiciain the third set; and modifying the prize for the player according tothe second multiplier factor.